Bill Clinton: Election 'almost certainly' will thaw gridlock

Former President Bill Clinton has predicted that the partisan squabbling that’s ground Washington to a halt “almost certainly” will thaw after Election Day, saying that since Republicans can’t deny President Obama a third term, “it’s going to be a different world.”

Forecasting a win for Mr. Obama, Mr. Clinton said in an interview that aired Tuesday on “CBS This Morning” that if GOP nominee Mitt Romney wins, Republicans almost certainly will retain the House of Representatives and there will be about a 50-50 split in the U.S. Senate.

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“If what I think is going to happen happens and President Obama wins, I think that, too, will break the logjam for a different reason,” he said. “As Senator [Mitch] McConnell said, their number one goal for the last four years has been denying him a second term. As soon as he gets that, they can’t deny him a third term — he can’t have one anyway. I think, in a lame-duck session, they will avoid the fiscal cliff; they will reach an agreement.”

“They’ll either make a deal, or they’ll have a short-term extension, which makes it clear this is not another year,” he continued. “I predict that you will get a budget deal early next year, if not in this lame-duck session, and I think you’ll start to see them work together. It’s going to be a different world.”